Should Christians Market Their Message?

Did you know that the average person sees or hears 4,000 to 5,000 marketing messages per day? The secular world is expert at marketing their messages (often anti-Christian ones) to us.

Shouldn’t we as Christians be just as aggressive, if not more so, in marketing the message of Truth to the world? Not with a Spirit of timidity, but power, love, and discipline (2 Timothy 1:17).

We have the most important message in the universe to get out to the world.

One day I’d like to write a book titled Anti-Marketing in the Church! You see, I do get frustrated at times about something: we have the most important message in the universe to get out to the world, and yet it seems to me (from my experience interacting with people over the years) that many Christians think it’s wrong to “market” things. By that term I mean actively disseminating/advertising information to the public.

Some Christians have even told me that marketing the church and its messages is sinful. They appear to associate marketing with a shady salesman who is trying to make a sale, regardless of the product’s quality and usefulness.

In spite of how it’s sometimes characterized, most advertising is entertaining and technically truthful. Unfortunately, many secularists market a worldview that is contrary to God's intention for our lives. As believers, of course, we have what everyone needs the most . . . the saving message of the gospel.

The American Marketing Association defines marketing as,

The activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

There is nothing more valuable than the saving gospel message!

At Answers in Genesis, we recognize the Lord has entrusted us with resources like books, DVDs, curricula, a world-class website, radio program, and so on. Also, the Lord has enabled us to open a Creation Museum—and soon the Ark Encounter.

But what would be the use of all these wonderful outreaches if people didn’t know about them?

The Scriptures in Jude 3 instruct us “to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.”

I have never been one to be content just advertising our resources and the Creation Museum. To me, if we are going to “contend for the faith,” then we must also publicly challenge those who oppose God’s Word in the culture.

We must also unashamedly challenge (but with respect) those Christians (particularly Christian leaders) who compromise God’s Word and lead the “sheep” astray.

AiG has very publicly challenged secularists as we have proclaimed God’s Word with boldness.

Over the years, AiG has used billboard campaigns to advertise the Creation Museum and contend for the faith. We have also used television advertising (both secular and Christian) and other media. AiG has very publicly challenged secularists as we have proclaimed God’s Word with boldness.

Now, this may sound radical to some, but I think local churches should be very involved in such bold marketing (and some are). Christians need to have more of a public voice in the culture, particularly as we see so many secularists trying to restrict the free exercise of religion, as guaranteed in the US Constitution!

At Answers in Genesis, since 2002, we have used the outside advertising agency of Joseph David Advertising (JDA). JDA has enabled us to professionally and succinctly “market” our resources and message to the world. JDA describes itself this way: “a full-service advertising, strategy, media and branding agency that specializes in doing mighty things with excellence that effect change in our world.”

That’s what we want to do: to effect change in our world and do it with the excellence we should, before our Holy God (Colossians 3:23).

Now this year, we have already used high-profile billboards to challenge the increasingly intolerant secularists who have been hammering away at Christians—and specifically aggressively fighting Answers in Genesis and our Ark Encounter project.

And right now, we have a very special advertising program to market the Creation Museum as a lead-up to the opening of the Ark Encounter in 2016.

You see, we are burdened to reach souls with the truth of God’s Word. Answers in Genesis wants to reach as many as we possibly can. We want to see everyone come to the Creation Museum, and the Ark Encounter too when it opens next year. We unashamedly proclaim God’s Word and the gospel (as visitors to the Creation Museum know).

So right now at the museum we have a special 2 Buy 2 program underway! Remember, the animals went on board Noah’s Ark two by two. So this year, to get people thinking about the Ark opening next year, and to encourage families and groups to come to the Creation Museum, here is what we are doing:

When you come to the Creation Museum this year and purchase two tickets, you receive two tickets for equal or lesser value free!

We want to reach as many children, teens, and adults as we possibly can with biblical truths.

Now this of course greatly cuts into our budget for the running and maintenance of the Creation Museum. But as I shared earlier, we want to reach as many children, teens, and adults as we possibly can with biblical truths, and this special offer will encourage that.

Many of you financially supported us last year to help fund our Kids Free in 2014 program—and it worked! The Creation Museum experienced a 28 percent increase in attendance, and over 50,000 children came to the museum to hear the gospel and learn how to defend the Christian faith.

We pray that you will support us this year as once again we try to get as many families and groups to visit the Creation Museum and learn the truth of God’s Word and the gospel, beginning in Genesis.

Now, through our unique advertising efforts, imagine over 100 million views of this exciting 2 Buy 2 program!

We have already been running museum advertisements on various TV channels (over 37 million views). For the next three months, we will be placing over 100 spectacular billboards in various locations on major interstates that advertise the 2 Buy 2 museum program.

Our advertising agency tells us these billboards will possibly generate more impressions (i.e., people seeing them) than any campaign we have done to date—potentially reaching over 100 million views!

Yes, we do charge a reasonable admission fee for people to visit the Creation Museum. It costs more to run this high-tech museum than most people realize (let alone open new exhibits). Even then, we want our 2 Buy 2 program to help families and groups in a significant financial way as they come to be exposed to the most valuable message in the universe.

Please pray for us as we proclaim the creation/gospel message in these ways. Without the support of God’s people, we would not be able to share the message of God’s Word so publicly and widely as we do.